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Effect of spinal cord TRH deficiency on lower motorneuron function in the rat
Author(s) -
van den Bergh Peter,
Kelly John J.,
Adelman Lester,
Munsat Theodore L.,
Jackson Ivor M. D.,
Lechan Ronald M.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880100504
Subject(s) - endocrinology , medicine , spinal cord , denervation , thyrotropin releasing hormone , neurotoxin , cord , excitatory postsynaptic potential , anatomy , hormone , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , surgery , psychiatry
Thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH), present in high concentrations in the mammalian spinal cord, exerts excitatory effects on the alpha‐motorneuron (AMN) via axodendritic contacts. We used the neurotoxin 5,7‐dihydroxytryptamine (5,7‐DHT) to deplete TRH from the ventral horn of the spinal cord of adults rats to determine whether the tripeptide may be trophic to the AMN. The rats were studied blindly and sequentially for 11 weeks. Motor performance remained normal by clinical and electrophysiologic assessments. AMN counts were not reduced in the lumbar cord, and gastrocnemius muscle showed no evidence of denervation in treated rats. We conclude that in the adult rat chronic ventral horn TRH deficiency does not lead to AMN degeneration and is not associated with a significant alteration of AMN function.